Our Breeds: Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie)

Sunday

Nov 25, 2012 at 3:35 AM

The Shetland sheepdog is lively, intelligent, playful, trainable, and willing to please and obey, but can be very vocal.

By ANNETTE KINGTHE LEDGER

BREED: Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie)WEIGHT: Males are 16-31 pounds and females are 11-20 pounds.COLOR: Sable, mahogany sable, shaded sable, tri-colored, bi-black, bi-blue, blue merle, bi-blue merle, sable merle, color headed white, double merle.LITTER SIZE: 4-6 puppies.LIFESPAN: 12-13 years.PERSONALITY: The Shetland sheepdog is lively, intelligent, playful, trainable, and willing to please and obey, but can be very vocal. They are loving, loyal and affectionate with their family, but are naturally aloof with strangers. For this reason Shelties must be socialized. Shelties do well with children if they are reared with them from an early age, however, their small size makes it easy for a child to accidentally injure them, so supervision is necessary.The herding instinct is strong in many Shelties. They love to chase and herd things, including squirrels, ducks, children, and if an owner is not watchful, cars. Shelties love to run in wide-open areas. Some Shelties get so excited or anxious that they perform a fast series of tight spins without chasing their tails, a behavior unique to the breed.Shelties have a high level of intelligence. WHAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING OR ADOPTING A SHELTIE: Neglecting a Sheltie's need for exercise and intellectual stimulation can result in undesirable behaviors, including excessive barking, phobias and nervousness. Fortunately, the reverse is also true; annoying behaviors can be lessened greatly by an hour of exercise that engages the dog with its owner. They do well with a sensitive, attentive owner.

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